Over at the Florida Carry Facebook page, I’m in a conversation where someone asked if we should have ‘stricter training requirements’ for CCW. My response is a resounding, emphatic, absolute “NO!!”.
Which isn’t to say you should seek out training. Maybe not this kind of training, but some training nonetheless.
I hear you now “Robb, if we’re not supposed to take Tactical Ninja 8 Gun SOCOM Six Sigma Master class, then how will we be prepared for the eventual ‘Nakatomi Plaza’ scenario?” to which I reply that I can offer you some training that will cover 99.999% of all situations you are likely to encounter and it’s 100% free!
Go to the food court at your local mall. Make sure you are carrying extra magazines for your heater which is well concealed or, if you live in a freer state and you feel inclined, wear it out in the open proudly. Grab a slice of pizza or a chicken sandwich and have a seat at a table that faces the main entry way to the mall. Consume your meal at a leisurely pace. Make sure you place your trash in the receptacles provided and leave the area.
You have now been trained on how to handle the most common, civilian self defense scenario known to man.
This isn’t to say you do not have a responsibility to know how to use your firearm appropriately nor does it indicate that you have no need to understand state and local laws. Since you are personally responsible for every bullet that leaves the barrel of your gun, it behooves you to know as much as you can so that you can adequately use your firearm in the rare occasion you are called to use it in self defense.
First, you need to know your gun. Hitting the gun range once or twice a year and blasting through a single box of ammo isn’t going to let you know how your firearm shoots. Astute viewers may have noticed during my most recent TV interview, my Glock 20 actually had a misfeed. That’s right ladies & gentlemen, on local television, a Glock actually decided to NOT feed a hollowpoint cartridge. That was the first time I have ever personally experienced a FTF with a Glock. I assure you, she has been taken out a bit more to ensure that was a fluke because it doesn’t do me any good to carry a pistol that jams. For those interested, it does appear that I had a batch of ammo with a slightly longer OAL that did cause another hang.
However, even Fantastic Plastic will jam from time to time – do you know how to clear it? Are you aware of the sounds your gun should make so that you can instantly realize something is out of place? I’ve had a squib load and immediately after firing I knew something had gone wrong which stopped me from firing another round and possibly having a kBoom! Watch the video and you’ll see that I don’t even pause as I clear the jam.
Knowing your gun also means knowing where it shoots. My Glock has Dave Sevigny sights on it, but as they are not adjustable, I know now that they tend to make me shoot an inch or two higher at 15 yards than I normally do. So, I’ve learned to completely cover the target with the front sight rather than put the top of the sight 2/3rds over, and I hit where I’m going. The last thing you need is to miss your target and end up putting holes in something or someone who doesn’t require extra ventilation because you are responsible for that.
Now, outside of understanding your personal firearm that you carry, I’m totally ‘meh’ with the concept of people taking high-drag, low-speed training courses. For us gunnies who care about those kinds of things, I think they’re great ideas. We enjoy shooting, this gives us more reason to shoot, and while we’ll probably never have to use anything we learn there, it is valuable knowledge.
The kinds of things that the regular citizenry could benefit most from doesn’t necessarily involve the use of guns. I think a “Situational Awareness” class would have exponentially more value than “How to sweep and clear a doctor’s office lobby”. A class in statistics and criminal psychology would help the average mom & pop avoid scenarios where a gun would be more likely to be called for than tactics on multiple-threat engagement. Heck, your money would be better spent on things like defensive driving, basic EMT response, and simple hand-to-hand combat than some complex shooting class. The ROI on those would be greater for sure.
Back to the original question though – Requiring any sort of training is a barrier to gun ownership which is a barrier to a natural right. While I think most of us agree that you should take the time to learn your firearm and the local laws, currently the lack of this kind of training hasn’t proven to be a big problem. We’re not seeing under-trained CCW holders accidentally slaughtering masses of mall-goers because they mistakenly confused grandma for a terrorist (you gotta admit, that Lane Bryant bag looked a LOT like a Semetex vest). So while it’s good for those of us interested in extra training, the reality is that there’s very little data that points toward the use in requiring it for others.
As gun owners, it is our responsibility to know our tools well enough to protect ourselves, our own, and those around us. There are enough laws on the books to go after those who do not exercise their responsibility, let’s not give the government yet another way to strangle our God given rights in the cradle.
Hitting the gun range once or twice a year and blasting through a single box of ammo isn’t going to let you know how your firearm shoots.